Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today...

It's cold out there every day!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!

Today was so much fun! We started with our non-holiday homeschool work (we are doing a new program with materials from The Learning Tree - review coming soon!), had lunch, and then worked on a science experiment! We used the scientific method to determine if our guinea pig would have the same prediction as Phil! We invited our good friends over to join in the fun- and it was a total blast!

At the end, I printed out packets for the kids from here. They were super cute, had a lot of different little activities that worked for various skill levels, were themed, and are free! Here is what they look like, you can click the image to learn more (not affiliated with this other site at all, I just appreciate it because it is totally adorable!).

Hope you all had a wonderful Groundhog's Day too!

Spring Term 2015

I love homeschooling!

I love it for zillions of reasons, but for now I will focus on just a few. Specifically- I love our homeschool routine!!!!

Homeschooling, for us, is a year-round endeavor. In the spring I work hard to research the best possible curricula for the coming school year while I am in the thick of the materials bought the year before (this is so I can purchase the bulk of our homeschool items, subscriptions, and materials with our tax return). Summer is spent with fewer school subjects, mostly wrapping up anything that needs review or may have been missed. In late summer and early autumn we get back in the swing of things and start the new traditional school year*. During the holidays we have special units and change a good deal of our curriculum to fit those unit themes.

*The children may have advanced levels before this time in one subject or another, but for record-keeping purposes we do not advance their "grade" until the fall. If a child advances far enough that they are basically a year ahead, we skip a "grade" the next fall without really skipping anything, as the work was actually done the previous year.

Our typical homeschool day begins at breakfast time. The kids meet downstairs and start their breakfast notebooks (November editions pictured at top). I heard about breakfast notebooks a few years ago and fell in love with the idea! It is a really great way to teach the kids things like addresses and phone numbers (VERY important things to know!!!) and months of the year, etc. I first learned about breakfast notebooks from some friends of mine, who pointed me here. The website shows a breakfast notebook for a younger child. Currently our own breakfast notebooks have our school schedule on one page (pictured above- currently Minecraft themed), a calendar, math journal (it is more advanced calendar work), number of the day math sheet, their scripture/Article of Faith/memory work, a science unit outline and checklist, a scripture map, and then pockets for any worksheets I may add. Most of the breakfast notebook pages are in sheet protectors, and the kids just write on them in Expo markers and erase them at the end of the schoolday.  I change the breakfast notebook covers and contents, checklists, etc every so often, just to keep it fresh and fun. I try hard not to make major changes to the curriculum unless absolutely necessary, as some major changes can be the academic equivalent of changing schools.

For science we usually do unit themes, but right now we decided to dive into the Starting Point Science book and do that for the remainder of the school year (works for us!). I love it so much- I am happy we ended up doing it! I will be tracking down a volume 2, and getting the other new books in that collection as well. If my math is correct, we will finish both volumes and the other books before next school year. We basically cover about two pages per day- which is essentially one concept as part of a larger unit. I really love this, and we quickly review what we learned so far (or already knew) before moving on to the next topic. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to do a nice and thorough review of some really great basic scientific concepts! There are so many amazing articles, videos, worksheets, and more online- we supplement as we go and it seems to be working out REALLY well!

We read scriptures every day and map out where we are. We are currently reading The Book of Mormon, and we are keeping track of our reading on charts such as these. The kids love these maps, and I love them too! We have discussions on our readings, and talk about what is going on, what was learned, and our general take-aways.

We have been using Math U See for a few years now and I am VERY pleased with the curriculum. We start a new chapter by watching the DVD lesson, then we sit down and I work on the new concepts with the child. The child then does daily worksheets that help reinforce the new concept, as well as review past concepts. I allow our children to tell me when they are ready to take the chapter tests. Sometimes tests may happen on day one or two, other times it may take every worksheet in the workbook (a week), and occasionally it takes the workbook sheets and printouts from the Math U See website too. We focus on mastery, and do not move along until a score of at least 80% is achieved- however, this program is so good at teaching, building, and reinforcing math concepts- we have only had each child score that low (80%) once. Usually they pass with 95% or higher (and we have them self-correct their worksheets and exams). The Math U See program really focuses on logic building and uses word-problems at every step and every level. Word problems are the kids' favorites (a passion I never shared growing up!). Very happy, and we will continue using these math books.

Spelling You See was a new addition this year, and one I am so happy we made! I have tried spelling lists, spelling apps, spelling this, and spelling that- and honestly none of them really spoke to my kids. I have one child who is a flashcard genius and would just drill himself until he scored perfectly- but months later when he saw the word again it was often missed. UGH! He would get so frustrated! I saw the Spelling You See program and decided to give it a try. We LOVE it! It takes just a few minutes each day, and really helps the kids learn to spell naturally. This is wonderful for my little kinesthetic learners, who learn best by doing. Now they are learning to spell by writing! We will continue this next year as well.

We have been using Getty-Dubay handwriting for a few years, and I like it a lot. It is an italic to cursive writing method, which I felt was important for them to learn. They do just a page a day. We tried other handwriting methods, and I was not as pleased with the results. These look much better. (Getting them to bring that nice penmanship outside of the workbooks is not as easy!)

Journaling started as my own way of getting Carter to overcome his fear of writing. He HATED writing. H A T E D. Never wanted any part of it! Years ago I handed him a little notebook and told him it was his daily journal. I asked him to draw me something every day. Then I asked him to write me a word (any word) each day. Then I asked him to make me lists, "What are your favorite colors?" "What are your favorite books?" Then I moved on to asking him to tell me stories, tell me about trips, dreams, experiences, etc. I did the same with Harrison, and now they pretty much write about anything. It was once my intention to correct these for grammar, spelling, etc- but I have found that the leaps their journals make from the beginning of one school year to the next- without any interference from me- are a really neat demonstration of the advancement of their language arts skills. So, for now, I do not correct them. (I do keep them and intend on showing them to their future spouses.) The journals are an excellent creative writing activity, and something the kids look forward to eagerly. Our rule in journaling: journals are personal, and we do not read another person's journal without permission. Mom always has permission- all others must ask first.

Reading is vital, and each child has 30 minutes of independent reading per day. This is in addition to any special family reading, book club/group reading, scripture reading, reading done together at the library, reading we do with siblings, reading of recipes, reading of textbooks, etc. 90% of the time the kids get to choose these books. At ANY time they are able to ask to go to the library (it is the next street over).

"Special Work" is my personal favorite thing. This is MY insert-whatever-I-want-to-do-today-here slot! We might do crafts, computer work, special worksheets, family reading (we read the unabridged A Christmas Carol every year. Why? Because I want to, and this is MY slot!), documentary viewing, an outing, yoga, dance party, trip to the store, extra science experiment, super cool math worksheet, really-whatever-I-want-goes-here thing! This gives me the freedom to be super spontaneous while giving them the heads-up that I have something planned. They know that there is something that will happen that is not on the usual schedule, but that is okay- because it is on the daily list. Freedom for me, routine for them, everyone wins.

"3rd/4th grade work" aka generic grade-level work, is different from previous years. My mother sent me these awesome Brain Quest workbooks and I LOVE THEM!!!! They are so great! Each has an entire year of curriculum-based exercises and activities in one fun book! (I literally just copied that from the cover.) This replaced our Time4Learning online work as our kids are still on an anti-computer streak (all them... I don't get it, but am happy to have something else that works!). These workbooks are a great chance for the kids to learn, review, or check their knowledge in various areas. Great stuff. This is where language arts, vocab, structured reading/writing, math skills in various forms, social studies, and generic science are all addressed and completed.

The kids practice their instruments daily. I once asked for 30 minutes but it was too much. We got down to 20 but even that was a headache and frequently missed. For us, for now, we are just 15 minute-a-day musicians. And for right now, that has to be okay. It is one of those times where I have to say, "Okay, Self- are we going to do 0 or 15?" because that is where we kept coming. So, we were honest with ourselves and just made it 15. (And now it happens!)

The last few entries of their breakfast journals list recess and snack/talk time. You might think, "What the heck is that listed for?!" Good question, glad you asked. Honestly, those are listed because they are important. Yes, my kids are home all day... always here... every day... all the time... never gone... but still, it is important for us to talk about things: news, current events, common interests, thoughts, plans, ideas, etc. Why? The conversational skills of American youth are becoming increasingly concerning, especially with the development of handheld technology and the cultural acceptance of public/private/anytime screen-time. Social skills are on the decline. Children need to learn to have face to face conversations, and here at home is a wonderful place for them to practice those skills. And recess? Great things come from recess- especially in a community with a lot of other homeschoolers! (Just today the kids ran around outside with kids their same ages- all of whom are also homeschooled. It was a little neighborhood gathering!)

And that is our homeschool!

I love it. I feel like this is an excellent groove for us, and I am very happy with it! 

Time4Learning

When we moved to Iowa, the laws (at the time) stated that I needed to have a supervising teacher oversee our homeschool progress or I needed to subject my children to standardized testing. I decided to go with a supervising teacher, and happily I was connected to a teacher who used the Portfolio Evaluation method, rather than monthly check-ins. I knew that homeschooling was a good fit for my family, I knew that the laws regarding what I needed to complete were in place, and I knew I had my ducks in a row, but trying to put it all together seemed like it would be a mess.

Insert Time4Learning!

Carter started Time4Learning at the beginning of 2nd grade. Carter loved it right away! After a few months, our homeschooled kindergartner, Harrison, asked to "play" Time4Learning too! We have now used it for over a year and we hands-down LOVE it. Here is why:

The (not-so) basics:

Time4Learning offers the fullest Language Arts curriculum I have seen in one location. This one program offers reading, phonics, vocabulary, grammar, writing, and more all themed and put together in an order that flows and makes sense. The programs I had used through other sites, other purchased curricula, or created myself, did not have the complete package that Time4Learning provides. Language Arts is not just a simple grouping of lessons students get to "click through," or can tune-out, but is an interactive and engaging set of lessons, complete with fun characters and themes! There are even separate Language Arts Extensions that go beyond the already thorough work offered in the program, giving students access to an even greater amount of learning!

Science, Social Studies, Math? Oh yeah! Time4Learning offers those too! The math offered by Time4Learning is not a series of memorized digits or formulas, but is presented with logic and practical application in mind. The Science and Social Studies subjects have fun, animated themes, and printable worksheets to enhance lessons.

As the parent, I get access to spelling lists, lesson plans, grades, and time logs, all with the click of a mouse. I can see what the kids have been working on, for how long they have been working, and their mastery level! This made the Iowa portfolio such a breeze! All I had to do was selected which reports I wanted, and click print! **We had other things in our portfolio, but the easiest part was the Time4Learning sections!

We get instant access to multiple grade-levels. With a single click, my 2nd grader was able to access 1st grade or 3rd grade work. Excellent for a chance to offer more of a challenge, or to review a sticky concept at a simpler level. So handy! Time4Learning also allows me to set the grade levels of subjects individually, so when a child finishes a given subject before the others, he is able to go up in that subject and continue to be challenged without changing the level of the other subjects. Time4Learning also allows me to change overall grade level if I want, anytime I want- no waiting for a new school year! Harrison started first grade this past winter!

One of the characters is named Harrison.... he is a harry purple puppet. This is just plain cool, and anytime Harry Harrison comes on the screen and his theme song plays, it is a guarantee both of my boys are singing at the top of their lungs, and paying attention! **There are a great deal of characters, and they change with grade level, so the chances of a child finding a favorite are pretty darn good!

There is a lot of flexibility. I need flexibility, and so do my kids. One of my sons loves workbooks and worksheets, and the other hates them. One of my sons loves to color and draw, the other would rather gag. Time4Learning allows us access to printable materials that can be cut, pasted, colored, and completed, but is also set up to allow these to be an *option* for kids who don't need or care for them. One of my children has nearly every worksheet printed and completed, and one of my children hardly ever completes worksheets (unless we are using them to reinforce a lesson or concept). This allows us a great amount of flexibility within the program, and makes it easy to tailor the curriculum to fit each child's learning style.

The price cannot be beat. At just $19.95 per month (with $5 off for additional students), this program is priced right! This program does not require any additional purchases, have hidden fees, or contracts. For less than $20 a month, I have access to full curriculums from pre-K to 8th grade, my records are all kept for me, and grades are completed for me as well. SPECTACULAR DEAL. (High School is $30 per month, for those with students who are ready for 9-12 grade work!)

I am very happy with Time4Learning, and it will continue to be in our homeschool for years to come!

As a member of Time4Learning, I have been given the opportunity to review their program and share my experiences. While I was compensated, this review was not written or edited by Time4Learning and my opinion is entirely my own. For more information, check out their standards-based curriculum or learn how to write your own curriculum review.

It's Summer!!!!! ...ish

All of the local public schools are out for the summer! YEAH! IT'S SUMMER BREAK!!!!!!

-ish!

For my kids, it is still time for school!

Okay, okay, so I know the idea of splashing around in water areas, playing with friends, and sleeping in sounds like fun, but the truth is that we tend to do things like that all year long anyway. We do not need a three month break, so although it is "summer" my kids still do lesson work. Because the boys and I are home full-time, there is always time for splashing, playing, and sleeping in- but there is also always time for schoolwork! **I speak on behalf of my family, NOT for all homeschool families. Many homeschool families do take summer breaks!!!!**

Breaks are very important, but I tend to make our school breaks happen when we need them, or schedule them around trips or visits. Breaks for us do not always mean that schoolwork stops. Our busiest and most complicated lesson plans are during the break we take during November/December. When I say we take a break during that time, I mean we are breaking away from our regular school routine and going into our holiday history and Advent lesson schedule. Those school days are much longer, take more prep, and are much more intensive than most of the rest of the year.So while it is a break, in a way, it is not schoolwork-free. We do have schoolwork-free breaks, but they are generally not in very large chunks.

Summer does bring a change for us! We do not do our traditional homeschool curriculum and rotation over the summer. I take the time to mix things up, relax things a bit, and often will use the summer to try new materials or methods. I feel like the change really makes summer special and sets it apart, without totally letting us go crazy or getting the boys out of the habit of doing schoolwork. (My first year homeschooling we started after taking the summer off- HUGE mistake. It works well in some families, but not for mine! My sons were resistant, angry, and had a really hard time adjusting back to the school routine- so we have never taken a summer off since and it has worked out much better for us.)

This summer we will be continuing our Language Arts lessons with Time4Learning.com.

We will be doing math from Math-U-See, and supplementing with the math lessons from Time4Learning.

I am going to be doing the summer program from Vocabulary Spelling City- we have not used the program before but the boys are excited about the idea of doing schoolwork on our tablet or phone. (This will be a test of the program. A friend of mine uses it and loves it, so I thought we would try it out, and they have a special program just for summer so I took the opportunity to sign up.)

We will be working on the kids' typing skills with games from here.

We will continue reading books from the library, our home collection, Kindle (so many free books- love love love!), Tumblebooks, and any other way we can grab them. We will be signing up for library Summer Reading Programs (but generally we finish those within a few weeks... so maybe we will make our own).

We will be doing more unit studies and less general study work. All social studies, science, additional language arts, writing, reading, etc will all be unit based. Carter and Harrison will continue writing in their 2012-2013 school year journals.

YAY SUMMER!!!!!!!!!

Let the fun begin!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, excuse me, I need to move over so Carter can work on his language arts. He is doing dictionary work, and needs access to the computer so he can search online dictionaries. (Back in my day, we had to use a book!) Then I think we will visit the library. Love summer!

The Joys of Schooling

Homeschooling can be downright nerve-wracking. I will not lie, it is not all roses. I saw this cartoon and it pretty much summed up how I feel most days:

The biggest joys happen on days like today. The two best kinds of homeschooling heartwarming moments both happened today: Carter had an enlightened moment of pure educational joy, and someone else took notice of Carter's progress and rightfully praised him.

This morning Carter and I were very annoyed with one another so Kurt decided to help Carter with his reading. Kurt listened and helped Carter as needed, and at the end of the chapter came to me in amazement, "Since when can Carter read things like 'pteranodon'???" Kurt was so proud of Carter, and Carter adored getting praised by someone other than me! It made him so proud that he had made his daddy proud!

Our second joy came when Carter did his math work. Carter asked me last week if we could learn about "space and planets" so I decided to do our unit on the solar system. Finding a cute printable online, I copied a math worksheet that added three different numbers together, instead of the standard two that Carter is used to doing. Kurt (bless him for working with Carter while I feel so horrible!) explained to Carter that he would be adding all three numbers together, and then let Carter go to work. Carter did it perfectly! The best part of this was seeing CARTER's pride in his work! He was so excited that he was able to do such a complex problem that had originally scared him! He was thrilled!

Seeing these beaming moments of Carter's pride really makes this hard work worthwhile. Being able to work with Carter and Harrison, at a pace they are comfortable with and which will maximize their efforts, is such a blessing!

Carter raced upstairs to my bedside to proudly display his math work (my morning sickness is still all-day sickness). He then demonstrated how he did it, and cheered at his accomplishment! At my request, Kurt snapped this picture of Carter- I love it! Carter is sitting so tall, chest puffed, trying to control his huge smile- his pride in his work is so great!

Yes, we love doing this. It is so hard, but so worth it =)

This week we are learning the basic concept of: Solar System. We are specifically going to focus on the sun. Carter continues to read Magic Tree House, Dinosaurs Before Dark, and is nearly finished! In addition, Carter also reads one other book to me each day- one he gets to pick all by himself. Harrison enjoys doing preschool worksheets, coloring, and reading level aa readers. The boys continue going to ballet (although I almost removed them... that is another story...) and this is their last week of the winter session of our homeschool coop. Their next session starts March 21st =)

Coop!!!

I love our Homeschool Coop so much!!! Here is a picture of the boys with their drama teacher. Such a great time!!! 

An Average Day

An average school day looks like this:

In our PJs, we meet at the kitchen table, and we do calendar work. We discuss the date, days of the week, upcoming events or activities, etc. Word of the Day is given- Fridays is a recap of the words we learned.

Still in PJs, Harrison goes to play and Carter and I go back to bed (my bed!) and Carter reads to me. Some days he reads a chapter from a larger book, some days Carter reads two other books, some days Harrison grabs a aa-level reader and will join us and read to us, some days I read a book or two to both of them, some days I read to Harrison alone after Carter and I have finished. We generally read for *at least* thirty minutes, but can last an hour.

Still in PJs- the kids play while I shower. Boys take showers next, we all get dressed.

Carter does readingeggs.com while Harrison works on starfall.com, or the boys take turns on the computer in the homeschool room. We are SO blessed to have enough computers for everyone in the house to have his own during the school day!

Unit Study time comes in early afternoon, generally after lunch. We will do unit based activities and readings- units are based on what the boys want to learn about. Because the kids pick the subjects, they are more likely to pay attention and be excited to learn. Amazing how cool math becomes when there is a graphic of an astronaut in the corner!

There is generally a short recess, followed by whatever work needs to come next. Grammar is something I stress- Carter understands punctuation and doesn't need reminding to capitalize the beginning of a sentence or put a punctuation mark at the end.

Science, art, history, social studies, and any spelling or vocab words are all based on the unit study and vary from week to week. I am IN LOVE with the Usborne science books and kits. In fact, I love them to much I just signed up as a consultant. Our "planets" solar system unit will take at *least* nine weeks. I think we are going to do an additional week on the sun- there was just too much knowledge out there, and the kids still have a lot of questions. At the end of this unit Kurt and I are going to take the kids to the planetarium at UNR (thanks to Grandpa Russ for the great idea!). The kids have coop classes and ballet classes, and our Church has a Primary program, in addition we do a lot of random outings to the library, museums, and parks.

As one can see, I greatly focus on reading. Once reading is mastered, the whole world opens!!! Carter and Harrison adore nonfiction books, and I believe reading is the cornerstone of a Lyle Family education. From the research I have seen, Kurt and I agreed to treat math as a logical concept rather than a necessary memorization of formulas. Carter and Harrison *DO* basic math- because if we move to a state where testing is necessary I want them to be able to pass well enough to stay home- but we do NOT stress memorizing- we stress conceptual understanding.

Here are a few pictures of an average day... =)

Harrison *adores* art and creation. Here, he is painting using "winter" colors. He was able to paint whatever he wanted, but I asked he use "cold" colors in his artwork. We discussed color temperatures and he picked his palate, then he painted whatever he desired. He painted a lot of Star Wars Hoth scenes =) (Carter painted as well, but did not love it.)

Carter *loves* technology. He uses readingeggs.com for his phonics program, and it has been wonderful. We started Carter at the beginning of the program to build confidence in his reading and help him learn the program. There is a lot of review involved which helps retention and the positive feedback from the program is great! (Harrison works on the computer as well, but does not love it.)

Birds!

In November we studied birds! Harrison decided on our topic, and our unit was so much fun! We read more books than are pictured, but I did not think to take a shot of the books until the end of the unit. We average one trip to the library each week, so I am working on figuring out a good way to catalog all of our readings- obviously a picture will not work! **This blog post is so late due to lack of time in December. 

The boys did a few crafts, print-outs, read a lot of books, and worked hands-on with Blue! At the end of our unit we found a nest that had blown out of a tree near our home. The boys really enjoyed wearing gloves and getting a chance to view and touch a nest up close!

Small sample of our Bird unit work.

 The boys worked with shapes and colors, as we first discussed bird anatomy.

Reading about nests is fun- but handling a nest was even better! Carter loved seeing and touching the abandoned nest!

 Harrison did not find the nest as wonderful. He was a bit grossed out.

The boys really enjoyed doing bird math! Harrison counted and colored while practicing his writing. Carter added the birds on every page, until he had added the entire book! Both boys enjoy dressing up, and while Harrison may demand to wear pajamas, Carter loves being Santa. And of course, our day cannot be complete without Blue (on Santa's collar).

The kids were thrilled when it snowed! They were sad it melted, but decided to cheer themselves by asking to make paper snowflakes to decorate!

 Cutting shapes!

The boys were in awe of how beautiful the snowflakes looked! I was just in awe at how adorable they look when they are excited about something. I love this picture- they are so thrilled about their creations, and I am happy to have snapped the moment!

Sleepover!

On Friday night we were so thrilled because we got to have Sean sleep over! We miss Sean so much, and it was such a great time!

The kids had a blast playing with their Star Wars toys! Our boys let Sean choose the character he wanted to be first, and I was so proud of them! Sean was Obi Wan, Carter was Darth Vader, and Harrison was R2.

As soon as Kurt was home from work we took the boys to dinner. It was adorable when the owner of the restaurant ran over to him, called him by name, and hugged him. I guess we picked a place he would like! He didn't request to go there, but apparently he is a regular! LOL!

When dinner was finished we went home for our homeschool lesson. We did core work during the day, but our main lesson needed night-time! Our lesson was about Christmas tree-toppers. Specifically, we discussed angels and stars. To discuss the reason behind Christmas tree stars we took the boys outside, rested on blankets, and talked about the three wise men who followed a star. It was such a peaceful moment, and the boys loved hearing us talk about the star. We explained that most of the stars in our sky now, looked down upon the baby Jesus during his birth and life on Earth. The kids LOVED that image, and felt so special to be under so many of the same stars that were gazed upon by our Savior!

After our lesson we took the boys inside to watch Christmas movies. They got to eat popcorn! Popcorn is a special treat, since we don't normally eat grains- so the boys were thrilled! After the movies were over, the boys were all tucked into bed, their room decorated with their own Christmas tree and Christmas lights. They all got kisses and hugs, and we expressed our love for them.

In the morning Kurt made Sean's favorite breakfast: bacon and eggs! Sean is a bacon freak- he ate four pieces! Our boys were very upset when Sean had to leave, but his Dad missed him and needed him back, lol. With sad hearts the boys said their goodbyes, and promptly asked me when they would get to see Sean again. With any luck, it will be soon =)

We miss that little punkin so much!

Latter-Day Homeschooling!?

I love the internet! Today I changed the look of my blog (for those who hate Christmas things in November, I apologize, but I greatly needed the boost in holiday spirit. Christmas may come in December, but for planning mothers it seems to come much earlier, and it happens more cheerfully if I have holiday cheer in my body!!!) and while I was looking for some cute new blog buttons I came upon a button for Latter-Day Homeschooling. What was this?! I clicked around and came to a super site that is full of homeschooling ideas, and has links to dozens of other homeschooling blogs with hundreds of more ideas! I am thrilled!

I am always looking for new blogs to read, new homeschool ideas, and new sources of inspiration! If you have any that you love please share!

Firefighters!

Carter and Harrison had a blast their first few weeks of homeschool! They have loved getting to pick what they learn about, and they cannot get enough of our library!

Our very first official unit study was on firefighters and what they do. What a neat topic! Carter and Harrison's first stop was the library, where they rushed to the nonfiction books to look up firetrucks. After making our selections, we headed home and I spent an hour or two looking up fun print-outs that were about firefighters. I printed some coloring pages, vocab lists, and even math worksheets that all were themed for firefighting! I created some index cards with our new vocabulary words, and I got the materials together that we would need for a few craft projects. My good friend sent me a helpful website that contained a list of themed websites- one just for firefighting! I browsed Netflix and found an age-appropriate program that was all about the life of a fireman! Add these fun themed school works to some other "core" activities- and we had a full unit curriculum! (**The Netflix was not part of school, I just added it for fun. It ended up working out perfectly because Kurt brought Strep home and Harrison spent an entire day in bed- poor fella! But he was thrilled to watch the fun firefighter program, and he actually learned things from it too!)

Carter loves to do worksheets with Blue on his shoulder!

Over the course of the unit we worked on some small art projects, and one larger project. Our large project was to create fire engines! I really enjoyed doing a complex project- the fact that it took so much time was wonderful, because we were able to space out the creation of the fire engines. Our first step was to paint some boxes.

We read, painted, read, did some workbooks, read, did some fun activities on websites, and read some more! We took our time on the unit, discovering and learning everything we could about life as a firefighter. We waited until the very last night of our unit to finish our fire engines. When they were completed, the boys couldn't wait to take a "ride!"

The unit culminated with a private tour of our city's biggest fire station. What an AMAZING experience! The kids truly received star treatment, and they spent almost two hours learning all about the life of a firefighter! They saw where the trucks and engines were kept, they got to "work out" in the station's gym, they snacked in the firehouse kitchen, they washed a fire engine, they got to play firemen (the dispatcher called for them by name, and they followed the firefighters to the engine, pretended to drive to the fire, and used a REAL fire hose to put out a pretend fire!!!) they got to sit in every single fire vehicle, got to see what it is like in a haz-mat suit, and got to push more buttons and turn more knobs than they have ever touched in their lives! I am not exaggerating, this was the neatest tour of a fire station I have ever experienced, and the firefighters were thrilled to have our little homeschool family visit! What a treat!!!

Homeschool Recipe

Homeschooling was always something we considered, and as preschoolers it was easily accomplished. Well, I say easy, but it wasn't. It took time, resources, and some more time. In hindsight, yes it was a lot of work but it felt easy because the kids and I had so much fun! I set up our first "Mommy School" in our kitchen and would have a color-of-the-week, letter-of-the-week, shape-of-the-week, famous-person-of-the-week, and daily crafts and activities. Sure, it was work- but most of the work was the prep. I found myself working for hours to to prepare fun half hour lessons for the boys. I poured over books, worksheets, and websites- I wanted to learn as much as I could about educating my sons. Harrison happily "colored" (which was basically eating crayons) while I worked with Carter. To this day Carter can point out and name many of Vincent van Gogh's paintings, can remember making those crafts with me, and has fond memories of me teaching him. (Carter's visual memory is off-the-charts gifted.)

Fast forward. A few years of early childhood education (*cough* day care *cough*) and a year of public school later...

Here we are... back at the kitchen table... 

But- it isn't working........

Um... hm... what's going on here?

It did not take us long to realize the curriculum we had chosen was not working for our family. We had decided to spend our first year homeschooling by using a k12 online school. When the k12 boxes came I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to open them!!! I set up the classroom in our livingroom, and we got to work! And then... we got stuck. Carter seemed unhappy. Don't get me wrong, he was happier than he ever was in a brick and mortar school, but he wasn't loving the learning process as much as I knew he could. We moved rooms and set up the classroom materials in the dining room, changed a few tactics, and tried a different approach to the material. Nothing changed. We moved around again and set up a homeschool room. Harrison asked to start sitting in the homeschool room and participating with us. It helped to have the boys together, but Carter was constantly on edge. We started having Harrison's bird, Blue, in the room with us- it seemed to ease Carter considerably. Things got a bit better- but not really... Carter got frustrated, angry, and really started to push back. It felt like homeschool was ruining our family life. Carter started to act out, and even run away. We felt helpless.

After some practice and working out a routine I could manage to fit Carter's school, Harrison's school, and my school in a day, as well as most of the household chores. However, unless I was totally "on it" things would slip through the cracks. Carter's school was taking more time than anything else in our lives (6 hours of me sitting next to him, talking at him, and him doing busywork), and it felt like a huge burden. I found myself second guessing homeschooling, but when I talked to Kurt about it he reminded me how beneficial homeschooling is for Carter. So- I knew what the right thing to do was, but it was stressing all of us out- what do we do?

One of my friends also homeschools. She is a great lady, and we occasionally exchange phone calls during mid-day tantrums or end-of-day cool-downs. She is so carefree and chill, it is nice to know that her kids drive her nuts sometimes too! She talked to me about the homeschool program she was using and I was floored- her's sounded like so much fun! I talked to her about mine and she was supportive, even though it sounded like a nightmare. Her son was grasping concepts faster, with less time spent on school. How? Different learning style. With her support, and the support of Kurt, I started shopping for a new program. It didn't take more than a few days for me to announce that we were not doing k12 next year. A few weeks later I decided we would drop k12 as soon as I was finished with fall semester. And a month after that we decided to pull Carter out of k12. Carter is no longer in the k12 program.

After researching and trying to figure out what I wanted to do, I decided to take the rest of the semester and follow this recipe. As with all recipes, I am sure we will tweak it a bit every so often or change parts here and there, but for now- this has brought success, happiness, and a real LOVE of learning back into our home:

• 1 Carter
• 1 Harrison
• 2 Parents
• Carter's interests (volcanoes, firetrucks, Captain Underpants, and Bad Kitty)
• Harrison's interests (animals, Caillou, holidays, food)
• Library cards for the entire family
• Internet Connection

Put these together, add whatever we feel like, and voila! Learning is fun!

We are currently doing a mixture of unschooling and unit based learning. I think unschooling is the best way to go, but in the event we move to another state and the boys have to take standardized tests, I am going to be sure they are prepared, so I try as best as I can to integrate "Core Subjects" Carter and Harrison get to rotate weeks and choose the topics we will learn about in detail. I take them to the library, supervise their use of internet research, and I supplement their learning with ideas and print-outs from a variety of homeschool sources. My current favorites are:

Usborne Books- Awesome. So awesome. So very awesome. Science, History, and a zillion other things. These books are seriously awesome. The science books are very impressive- they are full of really fun experiments! Carter enjoys science (he will tell you all about states of matter!) and these books are perfect for him!

Spectrum Math- Carter doesn't mind math worksheets or workbooks. And this one is excellent for him. He enjoys doing math at a very fast pace, and I enjoy that we can go at whatever speed works for him. 

Get Ready for The Code: Harrison loves these! He can sight read a lot of words, but we are building phonics now and this is great! It also helps with his handwriting. 

Explode The Code: These are just enough. So many phonics workbooks were either too long in a sound or too brief. These are perfect for Carter. Also helps with handwriting. 

Handwriting Without Tears- one of the things that shocked me the most was that Carter was incorrectly writing more than half of the alphabet but tested 100% at his last school. Ugh! These books are great- they start simply and work up- love them! Even Harrison likes it! 

TumbleBooks eBooks- a great site with books online. There are options for the books to be narrated (I love John Lithgow's children's books and I am happy he narrates his books!), optional quizzes, book report help features, and more. Check to see if your local library has a subscription that comes with your membership! If your child is in school, call the school librarian or teacher and ask if they have a subscription you could use!

Enchanted Learning- amazing site with tons of ideas and printouts. I actually bought my membership with them when we were a part of k12. I was super bummed that there weren't a lot of Columbus Day activities in our curriculum, so I searched online and found this site! There were so many neat ideas, print-outs, activities, and themes! I was thrilled! This has been a great site for coming up with ideas for projects that coordinate with the kids' interests. Fire Fighter math? Jack O Lantern matching? Perfect! 

Starfall- ah yes, a classic. Carter and Harrison both enjoy this site, but both enjoy different parts of the site. I love that they can pretty much run the site without any help, and even the "games" are educational!

As I start to name these I realize I have a seriously giant list, and I add to them almost every day. I think I will make a separate page for all of these, for any parent who would like ideas.

Anyway, our new homeschool recipe has resulted in almost instant success. Carter and Harrison BEG to go to the library and get new books. Their favorite section? NONFICTION! They really do want to learn all about the world around them, and by stepping back and letting them take the lead I am happy to help them figure things out. This is very fun, because as I "teach" them, I am learning about things too! (I thought Mount St. Helen was a large eruption, but then we learned about the Toba super volcano!) 

Like I said, I do not pretend to believe that this will always work for us- but this is what is working for now, and everyone is happy and thrilled to learn! (Books make up over half of their Christmas lists!!!)

Pumpkin Pickin' Fun!

Today we went on an outing with a large group of homeschool families! We had a blast! It was extra great because a friend of ours was there with her kindergartner and her toddler twins! She is such a busy mommy! Kurt and I had a blast playing with the twins, and our boys adored playing with her older son- SO FUN! Everyone picked out pumpkins. Carter and Harrison both chose green pumpkins (as usual!), and we now have six beautiful pumpkins on our hearth.

Pumpkin patch! Think its ugly and weedy? We don't! Bring it on- these are organic pumpkins!



 Carter and Harrison enjoyed playing on the playground!

 Carter loves feeding animals!

 Carter and Harrison climbed up trees, our little monkeys!

 Carter's homeschool group!

 Our family- September 2011

 Harrison didn't feel comfortable feeding the animals, but he tossed food in the pens!

 This machine was so neat! The kids put the food in little bins, and cranked the bins to the goats waiting at the top!

 Kurt, holding a little twin- we forget what it is like to be around toddlers- they are such a hoot!